Ghillie suits were originally developed by Scottish gamekeepers as a portable hunting blind, so that hunters could blend into the surroundings to hunt and not be seen by wild game.

Ghillie suits can be made in several different ways and with a variety of materials. Some ghillie suits makers use Hessian, a rough burlap in flutes that are attached to a net poncho. Other makers use a jute twine to attach to a net poncho.

The US army ghillie suits use a pilot's flight suit as the base or battle dress uniform. The most common ghillie suit base is durable nylon netting.

The base of a ghillie suit is made with a stainable durable fabric such as burlap. As nearly invisible as possible, fishing line or unscented dental floss is used to sew each knot of net to the fabric where the camouflage is going to be attached. Hot glue or shoe glue is applied to each knot to strengthen the ghillie suit. From there, the desired camouflage is applied to the netting by tying groups of 5-10 strands of a color to the net with simple knots?the colors are intermixed to create a camouflage appearance.

The ghillie suit is then weathered as much as possible. This can be done by soaking it in mud or manure to give it an earthy smell, or running over or dragging it with a car. Once the hunter or sniper is at their location, they add elements from their surroundings to the ghillie suit, such as leaves and foliage, to maintain as much camouflage as possible.

A good ghillie suit can be made from scratch, but it is very time consuming. The more detailed and higher quality the ghillie suit, the longer it takes to make and weather. Ghillie suits of high quality can take 100 hours to make and weather properly.

One of the biggest problems with ghillie suits is temperature. The temperature inside the suit can get to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 50 degrees Celsius, even in moderate climates.

A safety issue is also a problem?the burlap or Hessian can catch on fire quite easily, so white phosphorus, fires, and smoke grenades can be a serious hazard for a sniper. Ghillie suits are often treated with a fire-retardant product to reduce this hazard.

Ghillie suits can be purchased in a variety of venues and are readily available online. Most intense hunters or snipers will, however, construct their own to blend the best with the environment for which they will be used.

However, great ghillie suits can be purchased online as a good form of camouflage. For hunters who are only casual hunters, these pre-made ghillie suits do the job sufficiently. Extreme hunters who are really into the sport of hunting will often make their own. Most extremist hunters hunt in a variety of places, so they need a ghillie suit that they can tailor make for their surroundings and change from place to place with removable camouflage. This way, the hunter can piece together his ghillie suit to make it perfect for his hunting surroundings.

Snipers, most often, will make their own ghillie suits for the area they will be in. Snipers' ghillie suits are often made of different materials to reflect where they will be stationed,for example, on a rooftop or in the desert.